The U.S. State Department on Tuesday said President Donald Trump can offer to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, but cannot force either side to accept the proposal.
“As President Trump has stated, [everyone] has the right to define its own future,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular press briefing. “He offers his help, and it’s up to whoever he is offering it to, to whether or not they’ll accept it,” she said to a question about India’s ongoing refusal to engage with Trump’s repeated mediation offers.
Since brokering a ceasefire between Pakistan and India earlier this year, Trump has repeatedly—and publicly—offered to help resolve the Kashmir dispute. While Islamabad has appreciated the gesture, Delhi has maintained that Kashmir is a bilateral matter and there is no space for any third party mediation.
“I wouldn’t speak to the nature of another country’s decision-making. That’s up to them,” said Bruce. “We live in a fascinating, exciting time where we got a man who can make the difference and he’s generous about making that difference. He could have chosen to have his term be about anything other than peace and making America great again, but he is stuck with that,” she added.
“So, I wouldn’t speak to the nature of another country’s decision-making. That’s up to them, but, I think, all of us are grateful that we have a president who is willing to help, and wants to help,” she added.
The State Department spokesperson’s statement followed yet another denial by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Trump had any role in his country’s ceasefire with Pakistan.
“P.M. Modi told President Trump clearly that during this period, there was no talk at any stage on subjects like India-U.S. trade deal or U.S. mediation between India and Pakistan,” claimed Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in a press statement on a telephonic conversation between the two leaders.
“Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. P.M. Modi emphasized that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do,” he said, referring to the call that he claimed occurred at the insistence of Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.
There has been no official statement on the conversation from the White House.
Islamabad maintains that the ceasefire happened after its military returned a call the Indian military had initiated on May 7. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the call was facilitated by Trump.